


Strange How We Know Each Other

by Rioghna



Series: In another world [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Stargate Universe
Genre: Angst, Crossover, F/M, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 05:23:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5235833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rioghna/pseuds/Rioghna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The aftermath of Rumplestiltskin and Belle's time on Destiny leads to a rather unusual consequence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

 

 

Strange how we know each other.

"I could drive you, Papa, you know."

"I'm fine, Bae, really," Rumplestiltskin said carefully to his son.

"Well, say hello from all of us and get home quickly," the young man said. He knew how hard this had to be, but he understood.

Rumplestiltskin turned and kissed his beloved. "Now you rest," he said carefully. "I don't want you to overdo it."

"I'll be fine, Rumple, but I wish you would let me go with you," she told him. She knew how much he hated leaving Storybrooke, leaving her, but he didn't like the idea of her being outside the protection of the town, especially not now. He wasn't terribly sure about this world, and less so where Belle was concerned, especially now. He slipped into the front seat of the big, black Cadillac and with a last smile he pulled the door closed and started the car. It was going to be a long drive, especially alone. The plan was to drive to Boston and then take the train south. Flying would be faster, but he wasn't comfortable flying as a rule, less so by himself, but there was no way he wanted Belle in one of those contraptions.

It had all started a week ago. Belle had been feeling a bit sick, throwing up, and after several days, he had insisted she go to the doctor. He wanted to go with her, but it was rent day, and as much as he didn't mind missing it for Belle, she insisted that he continue on with his usual day. "It's probably nothing but a bug," she told him before kissing him goodbye at the shop that morning.

"What did the doctor say?" he asked the moment she came through the door to the shop, before the bell had even stopped tinkling.

"Rumple, perhaps you had best sit down," Belle told him, taking his hand, and encouraging him towards the back of the shop.

"What, is there something wrong? Do you need anything, I can..."

"Nothing is wrong Rumple, at least I hope not. We haven't really talked about it, but..." She was a little distracted, still trying to encourage him towards the back of the shop. Rather than upsetting her further, he followed, and allowed her to lead him to the bed, so she could sit next to him. "The good news is that there is nothing wrong with me," she told him.

"Nonsense, something is making you..."

"Listen to me, Rumple, nothing is wrong. It's perfectly normal. I'm not sick, Rumple, I'm pregnant..."

"You...we...I...you..." It wasn't often the mage was at a loss for words, but for once he genuinely didn't know what to say.

The next several days had been mostly rounds of congratulations and a sort of happy blur. Then it came to him, when he saw the report from the doctor, specifically the date. Thus his current trip. He had called the number, and left a message but this was not something he could say in a message.

Two days of thinking, two nights of sitting up late, spinning until the stars faded and there was no answer but his current actions. It was simple enough, he was the father, there was no doubt about that. It had been him making love to his wife that had wrought this miracle. Except that it wasn't that simple. Except that at the estimated date of conception was during that space in time when she had been on _Destiny_ , that time when he had been in the body of another man. So, his current journey.

Rumplestiltskin had no illusions that Rush would try to lay a claim. He couldn't. At this moment, the other man was trapped (quite happily, he reminded himself) on the far side of another galaxy in an alien space ship. And thanks to Rumplestiltskin, he was with his own True Love, one Doctor Amanda Perry, the woman who had traded places to allow his Belle to get back home with him. But none of that mattered.

He could have just not told the man. In fact, he had considered it. Then he thought about Bae. If he had never met the seer, he would have died on the battlefield, never knowing that some part of him still lived. No, he couldn't do that to someone else. Besides, Rush should know that some part of him, even if it was entirely biological, was alive and still on earth, that his line would continue.

Which was why Rumplestiltskin found himself on the road leading from Maine to Washington DC, to tell the man who looked almost exactly like him, (who was him if the scientist was to be believed, but he didn't), that he was going to almost be a father. Actually, he had wondered, considering his age and his curse, if it was even possible for him to get Belle pregnant, so in some ways, it was almost entirely a miracle, and for that, if nothing else, he owed the man. It didn't make the journey or what he had to say any easier.

It had been hard to explain it to Belle. He'd been afraid that she would be...something. But when Rumple had sat her down and told her everything, what he had realised, what it meant, she had just smiled at him.

"I know," she told him. "But as you say, it was you. It doesn't change anything, does it? It's still your child, yours and mine, and we are going to be its parents," Belle asked, a little worried look on her face.

"No, it changes nothing. Knowing you want this child, that is more than enough. It's no different than if we adopted, less even."

"Well then, it doesn't matter."

"But it does. I have to tell him. I..."

"I understand. If it was you, then you would want to know."

 

Almost twelve hours later, Rumplestiltskin arrived in Washington, and headed for the meeting place. At least this time it wasn't at the Pentagon. It felt a little too much like walking into Cinderella's palace, the feeling that he wouldn't be able to walk out again. Instead, they had agreed to meet in a restaurant in Georgetown. Of course, he wouldn't recognise Rush, but the scientist would recognise him, he ought to.


	2. The other side of the galaxy

 

"So what did Young want?" Amanda Perry asked from where she was lounging against the pillows of their bed. Two months ago, they had planned to take their time, to move her into the quarters that Belle and Rumplestiltskin had occupied and take their relationship slowly, or at least to slow down from the breakneck pace they had been going at. Indeed, Mandi's things had been relocated to Belle's quarters almost immediately, it was Mandi herself that never really made it. Mostly she used it as a place to keep her clothes, though there weren't a lot of those, and on the odd occasion, when she did sleep there, it was with Nick, like the three days after she got herself stung by an insect with hallucinogenic venom. It had been an interesting three days. But overall, if the two of them were not in the console room, or planet side, they were there, in the quarters that had once belonged to him, and people were starting to notice.

"To tell me I'm on the stones tomorrow. Apparently, Gold wants a meeting. Since he's listed as my contact and only relative, and I think he managed to unnerve General O'Neill, which is quite a feat. So, if he wants to see me, then the General wants it too, so I suppose he will." Rush shrugged and fell onto the bed beside her.

"That's weird. Have you spoken to him since..."

"We're hardly pen pals, if that's what you're asking," Rush teased. He knew that Mandi and Belle had been emailing one another. The librarian was more more accepting of modern technology than her sorcerer husband, and it gave Mandi someone else to talk to besides Mary. His only contact with Gold had been a book on basic magical theory that had appeared in their quarters one day, shortly after they had returned. It was just laying there on their bed when they came back from work. It had been illuminating, in a way, though some of it he had trouble with. Somedays he wished he could discuss it with Ru...with Gold, but he wasn't going to admit it, or encourage the man. Mandi smiled at him, pulled him close and took off his bracelet. He was getting much better at not accidentally changing anything into anything else, but they were still being cautious.

"You could try, he might be able to help. If you are going to see him, at least you can ask about the..." She pointed to the bedside table. That had taken only a day or so to figure out, that some _things_ remained from their time together. Rumplestiltskin had left his spindle when he had gone. They had found it in their quarters, still wound with thread and the batting he had been working on. It had seemed an odd thing, but one night, Rush had picked it up as he sat on the bed waiting for Mandi to finish changing before they went to the mess, and he had just...started. He'd noticed the odd habit of rubbing his thumb and fingertip together before, but he hadn't know what it meant, and really hadn't thought much about it until that moment. Rush kept expecting it to go away, to be honest, but so far, nothing. He'd also developed more of a taste for tea. "Do you think Mary is okay?" Mandi asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? I'm certain she is fine, and anyway, why wouldn't she be, and why would he ask for _me_ , if there was a problem?"

"There are some things that need saying in person," she told him, before he pulled her to him for a kiss.

"I'm certain it's nothing like that. Probably just checking up on the computer disk.  I just hope he doesn't want his book back. I've not the foggiest idea how to send it," he told her, distracting himself with Mandi's mouth.

Still, it hadn't stopped him, and Mandi, he was certain, from worrying. He was so distracted that he forgot his bracelet, and almost accidentally done something rather unfortunate to Volker. Of course panels did actually explode on _Destiny_ occasionally, so he was fairly certain that no one caught it except Mandi, who slipped away to his quarters before he had to meet with Young.

Actually, he and Young had even been less at odds with one another lately. He wondered if it wasn't some residual reaction to what he had seen before the memory potion took hold, or possibly that the Colonel had found out he was going to be a father, and was busy trying to convince his former lover that they should give it a second try. That his wife had filed for divorce might or might not have had some effect on that decision, or it could just be that, like so many of the rest of the crew, he was doing the best he could with the hand he was dealt, Rush neither knew nor cared. Unlike those people, Rush had everything he wanted, his work, a beautiful woman who he loved, and who loved him and that was just as obsessed with _Destiny_ as he was. What more could he want? Well, besides more time, and possibly not to be capable of doing magic, but over all, he was content with his life.

Which was why he was so very nervous about meeting with Gold. What could the man possibly have to say to him, and would it be something dangerous to his current happiness? For two days, he waited and worried, and sat up late in the ship's night, spinning of all things. He did notice that somehow, no matter how much thread he spun, the wool bat never seemed to get any smaller, but he wasn't about to question that either. Instead he spun and he worried, until Mandi came and dragged him back to bed to shag him into unconsciousness, or just to cuddle. She didn't ask what was worrying him. She didn't need to.

So it was that Rush found himself walking toward communication with Mandi, two days after speaking to Young. "And see if you can get Volker to finish those diagnostics while I am gone. He's less of a...."

"At least I don't threaten him.  He's not jealous of me, or at least not in the same way. He feels the need to compete with you," Mandi told him, smiling.

"Well, good thing, since he's about half the scientist you are, my dear," he said, starting to lean in for a kiss before they went into communication. But he paused when Camilla Rey stepped into the corridor. "Hello Camilla, are you going as well?" he asked pleasantly. It was another rather pleasant side effect of their little fairy tale encounter. Camilla had become exceedingly cautious in her dealings with him. From this, Rush had developed a habit of being nice to her, which only unnerved her more. Mandi found it amusing, actually.

"Ahhh, yes, I have some time..." she said nervously, and then, nodding at Mandi, headed into Communications before them.

"Well, that was fun," he said, leaning in to kiss his lady. "I'll be back as quick as I can. And yes, I will say hello to everyone for you, but I draw the line at hugging the man."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it has been so long. NaNoWriMo ate my life more than I expected, especially when added to the loss of two close friends suddenly and unrelatedly from unexpected health complications. Thank you for reading, and for your patience, and I promise that I mostly have my life back.


	3. Bombshell

 

 

"Doctor Rush, just a moment, sir," someone called his name as he hurried down the corridor. He turned his borrowed head to give a dark look to the airman who stopped him. The physicist had only a short time to get to the Georgetown restaurant to meet with Gold and he didn't want to spend any more time away from _Destiny_ than he had to. The borrowed body never felt quite right, like he was wearing someone else's underclothes (which he also was). Then there was leaving _Destiny_ , his work, and his love. Not that he didn't think that Mandi was the most able person on the ship to keep it together, but that didn't mean he didn't worry.

"I have those reports you asked for," the airman said, handing over the file folders without blinking an eye. "And this is from the lab, some blood work you requested." Without another word, the airman turned around and left him standing in the corridor. He realised that he was still distracted and worried, and standing around was not helping either of those things. Rush took a quick look over the files, a couple of reports on the status of what other parts of his work might have been released to the Lucian Alliance, then there was the laboratory report. That one he put aside to read in the car. After all, it could be very important. Finding the sunglasses in his host body's top pocket, he made his way towards the exit and the car park. At least he didn't have to put up with Peterson accompanying him, anything dealing with Rumplestiltskin was far too...personal.

The car let him out in Georgetown, across from the restaurant, and he told the driver not to wait. He figured it was best to call. He crossed the street carefully, trying not to think about what the man had to say to him. Not that he didn't have things to say to the sorcerer as well. The report had been interesting and as it involved both of them, he supposed that he would have to share it. Perhaps he could wait though. It all depended on what Gold had to say to him. He was absolutely certain that it had nothing to do with Mary. He was more concerned that the man was going to tell him something about what had happened to the two of them and the potential that it could happen again. Rush still didn't understand exactly what that was, but it made more sense in light of the new information. The doctor had spent the ride around the beltway, long and annoying as always, reviewing the laboratory report he had gotten, twice, just to be sure. The question was, how was Rumplestiltskin, sorcerer, magical imp, and genuine fairytale character (or villain, depending on your perspective, and if Rush's time in his mind was any indication, depending on day, date, and time), going to take what he had to say. But, one crisis at a time. First Rush needed to find out what Gold had to tell him that was so very important that he had to come to Earth for it, then he could drop his own bombshell (or decide that it was something that was better done later, an option he was leaning towards anyway). 'Confronting angry sorcerer' was not exactly on his list of things to do today, not if he could avoid it.

At least this time the physicist had been fortunate enough to get a body that was not that of a giant marine. Slightly taller, slightly younger, and he didn't recognise the face, but that was hardly a surprise. He walked carefully into the restaurant, removing his sunglasses and peering around the darkened interior. The restaurant was small, understated, and undoubtably expensive, not that either of them needed to worry about _that_. Gold had more money than God and Rush himself made a good living, not that he could do anything with it, nor that he had any expenses to take out of it. It was easy enough to spot Gold, looking much like he did in his own body except for the extremely expensive suit that probably cost more than his entire wardrobe, back when his wardrobe had consisted of more than two pairs of blue jeans and some BDUs. Their eyes met and the old sorcerer nodded.

From the moment the man walked in, Rumplestiltskin knew it was him. Rush's parallel dimension theory might be an absolute load of rubbish, but he did agree that there was some connection between them. Rush came to join him, walking a little slowly, as if reluctant and Rumplestiltskin didn't blame him. His message had been exceptionally brief, vague, and uninformative, but really, what was there to say? 'Hello, my wife is having my child, but there is a possibility that I was you when it happened, so biologically, you might be...' No, that was a discussion that needed to be held in person, preferably in a place that served alcohol. He'd chosen this place deliberately.

"Rush," he said, rising politely when the man reached the table and offering a hand. "I trust it was not too much trouble getting here. Would you like to order..." He began as they both took their seats.

"What I would like is for you not to act as if this is simply a friendly luncheon or a business meeting and tell me what the hell is going on. You don't just contact me without a bloody good reason, so what is it?" Rush asked as he dropped into the chair opposite. "Consider the pleasantries dispensed with and get on with it."

Rumplestiltskin waved to the waiter and ordered two very expensive glasses of scotch before turning his attention to the other man. It didn't make Rush any less nervous. The lawyer waited the few moments it took for the waiter to return, put the glasses down and leave. "Belle is pregnant," he said simply.

"Congratulations, but what..."

"About 12 weeks pregnant, plus or minus a week, so the doctor says," Rumple added, though he had seen the calculation and the realisation dawn on the other man even as he spoke. Rush picked up his glass and downed it in one go. With a crooked smile, Rumple motioned for the waiter to bring another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those of you reading this. Hope you are enjoying it. Sorry it's taking me a bit but it has really been a hellacious couple of weeks. I didn't even to RSS this year. So please enjoy, read, comment and all of that stuff, and I hope to get my other stories updated and this one finished soon, Gods willing and the creek don't rise.


	4. Strange How Certain the Journey

_ _

 

 

"I'm...you're....Bloody Hell, there aren't even words to deal with this situation," Rush said, after his second drink (good stuff, too. He'd give him that, if he was going to make his head hurt, at least the imp was well prepared). Rush wasn't entirely certain he knew what to do, or to say for that matter. It wasn't as if he _was_ the father, not exactly. Or if he was, it was only in the most basic, biological way. He'd not exactly been involved (for the most part, the other he was still trying to forget, but then Mandi was going a long way to helping with that). Did he even _want_ to be a father? He'd not thought about it in years, not since before Gloria had gotten sick. The time had never been right. Of course, it was still possible that he could be, Nick knew that. He and Mandi could very well have a child, especially as they weren't necessarily as careful as they could be, and even when they were...supplies were running low again.

But this...part of him wondered exactly why Gold had felt the need to tell him. Then, he did understand the imp, sort of. Nick definitely understood him much better than most, as well as he could understand a man who was, more or less, his alternative self from another world, a world with magic. Ignoring even that, he understood Gold's sense of honour. The man had done a lot of things to be the father that his (either of them) had never been. Still, in all practicality, no matter how he felt, it was the sorcerer's child. Regardless of everything else, anything else, it meant that if they never made it back to Earth, something, a small part of him that was this version of him was still there, still on the planet that bore him, even if it was only on the genetic level.

"It's true, but then how often are words needed for this?" Rumplestiltskin agreed. "Another?"

"Best not, I shouldn't go back to base drunk in someone else's body," he said.

"I'll fix that for you," the sorcerer offered. "You've had a bit of a shock."

"That's the understatement of the week, but in that case," he agreed. Rush realised he needed to say something. "You will be the father, no matter what else is true."

"Yes."

"Guess that means that officially I'll be an uncle," Rush told him. There was Bae of course, but considering the ages, the scientist didn't think of him quite the same. "I...I'd like to see...it. Even if it's just....Mandi and I've not talked about it, but TJ's getting along. Someday, perhaps..." This was very personal, more personal than they usually got with one another, well talking at any rate. Neither of them were comfortable with it. After all, it didn't get much more personal than sharing a body, or than his body creating a child with the other man's wife, whether he was there or not, but they weren't the kind of men who talked.

Rumplestiltskin nodded. If it had been Doctor Perry, he would feel much the same. Of course, unlike Rush, he had spent a good three hundred years sharing his body with the residual memories and personalities of all those who had carried the curse before him. He was very good at compartmentalizing, and at avoiding emotional heart to hearts. Still this was new territory.

"Will you bother to test..." Rush asked. He was thinking about the lab report he had left in the car. Now was most definitely not the time to open that kettle of fish with the mercurial sorcerer. When the time was, he didn't know, if ever.

"I think not. There is no reason that I can see. I only told you as a courtesy. You understand."

"I do, and I agree. It's enough...it's enough for me to know that there is possibly some part of me here, even if it's only my genes, if we never get back, or if..."

"Quite."

The rest of their lunch went fairly well. After the rather dramatic ice breaker, they settled down to actually talk. Gold began by catching him up on the doings of those in Storybrooke who had been involved in saving them. "Regina's tied up in plans for her wedding to Robin," the old sorcerer told him. "She actually sends her best, more or less, and says to keep an eye on your mistakes."

"She still hasn't forgiven me for the...Er...Does Henry still have it? I mean..."

"You mean Chip? The table?" he confirmed. Rush nodded. "Oh yes, and she's not like to forgive me, either, for not turning it back into lawn furniture. Henry named it, Chip is short for Chippendale, his idea of a joke. He's rather attached to it. Of course it still gives Regina the collywobbles. She won't let it visit when he is staying over there, and I think she is trying to convince Emma to cite me for volition of the leash law. Of course, the Sheriff keeps reminding her that magically sentient tables that are independently mobile aren't cited in the relevant statute. Not to mention, where would we attach it? Meanwhile, Henry's been teaching it tricks. It walks out to the fence in the morning to greet the paperboy. He puts the paper on, and it brings it up to the porch. Never watch him climb stairs, that is disconcerting." Gold smiled. Rush wasn't entirely certain if he was serious or not, nor did he really want to know. He had never gotten a handle on the imp's sense of humour.

"What about Zelena?" the scientist asked.

"That's another and not so terribly pleasant story. There was nothing I could do for her, of course. She's still completely mad and her magic is permanently broken. They managed to save her hand, but she'll never use it again. Doctor Hopper had her transferred to the state hospital for the criminally insane. All that can be done is to contain her, I'm afraid, and she will always be a danger to herself and others. On a happier note, I am sure that Mandi would like to know that Mary is doing well. She's settled in quite well to town, she's also been seeing Jefferson quite often."

"Is that entirely a..."

"He's a good man," the sorcerer assured him.

"That's good because she's a good woman, and as close as Mandi has to family. I'd not see anything happen to her."

"She's doing well. But what about the ship? Is Young being...himself?"

"Actually, Colonel Young has been less of an arse than usual. He's too busy trying to sort his relationship with TJ out before the baby comes, now that he knows about it. And he's not the only one."

"Oh?" Rumplestiltskin inquired.

Rush filled him in on what had happened with Telford, something he'd not been able to do before inside the Pentagon. "He's much less of a raging arse, at least," Nick told him. "I still don't like him, but at least he's out of my hair, Don't know what's going to come of it, though, probably get himself killed, at least I think that's the general consensus."

 

On the ride back to the Pentagon, Rush mulled over everything he had learned. Overall, it had been one of the more dramatic lunch meetings he had ever had. Even after the sorcerer had sobered him up, his head was still spinning (and damnit, he'd not asked about that, too many other things going on), reminding him vaguely of those first few days on _Destiny_. Nick spent the expectedly long ride trying to process. One thing he knew for sure, he wanted to get back home, back to Destiny, back to Mandi, where he could talk it out and process in the comfort of his own quarters, preferably in her arms. At least now he had something to go back to, something far warmer than his all consuming work.

On his way back to communications, he passed General O'Niell. "How did it go?" the Air Force officer asked. "All good, I hope?"

"Yes, General. My brother just wanted to tell me that I am going to be an uncle." Might as well get used to saying it, the general wasn't the only one who was going to ask and he had to be able to say it smoothly.

"An uncle huh? Isn't he..."

"A little older than I am? Yes. But his wife is a bit younger. They are thrilled."

"Congratulations then," the general said carefully. He'd been told by Rush himself that their relationship was somewhat seriously strained, but apparently they were trying to repair that.

"Thank you." Rush smiled.

 

Rumplestiltskin called home after he left the restaurant. "Yes love, I'm getting on the next train. Depending on when it gets in, I'll drive straight back home and see you by breakfast. Is everything all right?"

"Fine," she told him. "Bae and Henry are here, playing with Chip. How did everything go with Nick?"

"Well, I think. About what I expected. I will tell you all about it when I get home."

"Be safe. We can't wait to see you. I love you," she said.

"And I love you."

 

Rush arrived back on _Destiny_ , glad to be home. He said nothing to anyone and, for once, no one was screaming for him the moment he returned. That was good, he didn't particularly want to talk to anyone. Well, just about anyone. Instead he went straight back to the quarters he shared with Mandi. If she wasn't there already, it would give him a little more time to think. She would certainly be there as soon as she found out he was back on board, and she could get away.

Their quarters were empty and Rush was considering whether to get a shower or wait for Mandi, when the woman herself came through the door. Somehow, he always felt the need for a shower when he returned, as if whoever had been using his body got it dirty somehow. It made no sense, but there it was.

"Nick," Amanda Perry said as she rushed towards him. That was something else he hadn't quite worked out. How exactly his darling was going to react to someone else having what was, at least potentially (he admitted, they were both assuming it was) his biological child. Of course, Mandi liked Belle and besides that, she was a scientist. It was really no different than if he had been a sperm donor (which was more or less the case, now that he thought about it). Still, it gave him pause. Actually, if the two of them had more time, and hadn't been so careful, he and Mandi could be in exactly the same situation.

"Is everything all right? Everyone..." He wrapped his arms around her.

"Everyone is fine, love. How about we go have a shower and I will tell you all about it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for coming on this little side trip. Is this the end of the Another World 'verse? No. This is more or less a gap filler, and idea that I needed to get out of my head. There is another big story in this line, when I have the time to get it started but first I have a few things to finish up, so please be patient. Please, if you enjoyed it, leave a comment. It keeps me writing, makes the muse happy, and brightens my day.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this. It is just a little one, probably two parts. It was always planned as part of this universe. I've been head down working on NaNoWriMo, and I just had to finally get it out of my head. Yes, it's a part of the In Another World Series, and no, it's not the last one, but it's been a hell of a last few days. Look for more from me in December.
> 
> Oh, and for the curious, the title comes from the lyrics of a song by Vienna Teng, called Eric's song, which is wierdly appropriate to this entire universe.


End file.
